Letter: Illinois Judges Association members helping promote literacy

Studies show that children learn to read up until the third grade and read to learn thereafter. If they canít read, they canít learn.

This reading deficiency affects learning, contributes to a higher school dropout rate and ultimately will affect their own economic success as well as our countryís ability to compete in a global economy.

As educators and elected public officials grapple with this problem, many individuals are taking a hands-on approach, right in their own back yard. This month, some 65 members of the Illinois Judges Association are visiting elementary school classrooms to share their love of reading and how it has impacted their lives.

Their calling card? ďAbe Lincolnís Hat,Ē by Martha Brenner, a delightful childrenís book about our nationís 16th president. The book portrays Lincoln as an absent-minded frontier lawyer who nudged his memory by sticking letters, court notes and contracts inside his black top hat. The volunteer judge reads the book aloud to students and engages them in a conversation about reading, history and civics. The book is donated to the schoolís library.

This project wonít end in February. It is part of the IJAís ongoing reading and tutoring program called ďPage It Forward.Ē

We owe it to the next generation to play a part, however small, in helping young students learn, graduate and ultimately become productive citizens in society.